Dr. Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, Director of Graduate Medical Education (GME) at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, tells HI Now all about GME.

GME refers to any education or training that happens after medical school. A fourth-year medical student is “matched” into a residency program where they spend the next few years immediately after graduation, training as a resident physician specific to their chosen specialty. If physicians want to further sub-specialize then they can apply for a fellowship.

“It’s really important because you want a physician who is at the top of their specialty, who has been well trained under good supervision, who’s up to date with the latest evidence and research and really has a chance to hone their skills– that’s what Graduate Medical Education is,” said Dr. Buenconsejo-Lum (JABSOM MD 1994.

The residents and fellows train at JABSOM’s hospital partners throughout the state. With Hawaii’s growing need for physicians, one of the strategies to alleviate the doctor shortage is to increase training sites in rural areas on the neighbor islands.

“When they (residents and fellows) have those training experiences, they’re more likely to fall in love with the neighbor island communities, really get involved and be more likely to stay,” said Dr. Buenconsejo-Lum, herself a graduate of Leilehua High School.

She added, “If we can train them here for medical school and train them here for residency then we actually have about an 80% success rate of keeping them here in Hawaii.”